Inter Arbiter

Twosyllable; 2010

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"Do it yourself if you want things done right," sings Sebastian Krueger on "Canteen" from Inter Arbiter, the debut LP from Inlets. That claim is a bit of a red herring: Though Krueger originally hails from Wisconsin and operates mostly solo out of his Brooklyn home, he's no lone wolf or Justin Vernon-style sob story. In recent years, Krueger's popped up on records by My Brightest Diamond and DM Stith; on Inter Arbiter he shares time with guests Zach Condon (Beirut) and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors).

No surprise then that much of the Inlets record orbits around Brooklyn's baroque sounds. "Canteen", modeled like an Archer Prewitt cut-- crisp and close-miced, open-tuned guitars-- is somewhat of an outlier. For the most part, Krueger splits the difference between frilly instrumentation and an acoustic-led inner monologue. His compositions don't move forward so much as they revolve in place, each filigree of strings and vocal harmony rounded off in waltz time. And while acoustic instruments are prominent enough to suggest solo composition, there are, as a song title here slyly jokes, plenty of "Bells and Whistles" and decorative orchestration.

Even when Inlets get relatively spare, such as on "In Which I, Robert", the song stlll boasts staccato piano thumbs and barbershop harmonies. But for all its external prettiness, Inter Arbiter too often honors its name by getting lost in itself. Though Krueger's poetic bent is admirable in a genre that can be too straightforward or impressionistic, Krueger's lyrics can get a little too ripe-- see lines like, "I can smell your underbelly, softened and sweet/ And it gets me going like I've nothing to eat."

"Bright Orange Air", the keeper cut, demonstrates Inter Arbiter could've been a knockout with stricter boundaries. Boasting the record's most intriguing lyrics-- a bemused recollection of the strange beauty of metropolitan ambient light-- and a sturdy song structure that supports tart harmonies, it demonstrates that Krueger's adept at painting around the edges. Hopefully, next time around he'll become more comfortable aiming for bullseyes.